Addressing Antivaccine Sentiment on Public Social Media Forums Through Web-Based Conversations Based on Motivational...

Area of Science:

• Social Media Health Interventions
• Digital Health Communication
• Public Health Informatics

Background:

• Health misinformation on social media poses risks.
• Limited real-time, in-situ field research exists for digital health interventions.
• Addressing misinformation requires novel approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a pilot program of "infodemiologists" using motivational interviewing techniques.
• To evaluate the impact of these interventions on COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on social media.
• To establish an evaluation framework for real-time digital health interventions.

Main Methods:

• Field study involving "infodemiologists" intervening in Facebook posts.
• Interventions focused on COVID-19 vaccine misinformation.
• Engagement metrics (emojis, replies) analyzed using statistical tests and regression models.

Main Results:

• 145 interventions conducted on Facebook posts containing vaccine misinformation.
• Intervention comments (infodemiologists' replies) showed lower engagement compared to matched control comments.
• Empathy-first strategies led to reduced engagement, potentially by quieting discussions.

Conclusions:

• Empathy-first communication strategies in this pilot study garnered less engagement.
• Interventions may reduce engagement by de-escalating contentious misinformation threads.
• Further field research is needed, emphasizing the importance of platform data transparency.